Papa

Last night was one of the best nights I've spent in Japan. No lie. I went out with a friend of mine from the nearby (well, relatively speaking) city of Ogawa-machi, the end of the line stop from Tokyo in northern Saitama. I'd only gone out to Ogawa once before, to eat yakitori with a few other English teachers in the area. Today is National Foundation today in Japan, so I had the day off work. And I was ready to blow off a little steam.
So I met up with Dave (who works in Ogawa-machi) for yakitori and beers. And the place that we went was amazing. It's a family-run place with pictures of grandkids tacked right on the wall, calandars from years long passed, and the whole lot of it smoke damaged from the cooking and grilling in the back. The toilet in through the kitchen, and I wouldn't recommend its use to the weak of heart or sensitive of smell. Basically, just a hole in the ground; or formally, a Japanese-style toilet.
We got a seat, ordered two "dai nama biru," (big draft beers) and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the mugs were bigger than my head - you don't get a whole lot of that in Japan. Then, after placing our order, we get a huge plate of one of the best-tasting things I've ever eaten; teriyaki chicken on a bed of thin-cut cabbage. So simple, so delicious. When the guy was bringing it over, he told us it was a present!
We ate all of that, six skewers of yakitori each, half a fried chicken and THEN we got three more plates of presents: delicious garlic spicey daikon pickles, ji-ji ba (which I guess is a Chinese dish of cold chicken, hot peppers and cabbage), and then a big plate of beef and peppers. I don't think I've ever eaten so much good food in one sitting, and the whole time the owner is just smiling at us and telling us to please come back. Oh, and I drank four beers bigger than my head, so I was pretty buzzed.
It's nights like that that make me remember why I wanted to come here. I wanted to meet people, and go to the places off the tourist maps. I wanted to make connections with people I would never get a chance to meet otherwise. I wanted to eat every single thing that was offered my way, and get drunk with people I can hardly communicate with. I especially get a kick out of peeing in strange, new places.
And I did all of it! I spoke in Japanese with some new friends, I ate great food, I found a new hang-out, I blew off some English-teaching steam with Dave, and I absoultely can't wait to do it again.
All the free food makes me remember something wonderful about travelling and being an obvious stranger in a strange place; the random acts of kindness. There's something fantastic about walking into a place you're obviously unfamiliar with, juggling a language that you don't have all the pieces to, and still coming out with new friends. It feels really good. The shop owner told me to call him "Papa," and I will, the next time I go.

Oh, and to top it all off, I started playing Pokemon in Japanese this week. And my Japanese is getting good enough to follow what's happening! Granted, it's a game intended for shougakkou students, but it's great to navigate a game without a scrap of English in it. So, good for me on all counts.